David Ortiz, the Dominican slugger and sure-fire first ballot Hall-of-Famer for the Boston Red Sox, has never frozen in front of the big lights of any significant game he has performed in MLB. His bat on the field and leadership off it garnered Boston three World Series crowns.
As he marched out for his final home opener Monday at Fenway Park he was surrounded by former teammates and Boston sports stars. But the Red Sox caught him completely by surprise by bringing out his 15-year old daughter, Alex, to sing the national anthem. Yes, he was not told and the image of David hiding his face in his cap as his daughter hit it out of the park was priceless.
“She always takes music lessons, always sings at home,”
Ortiz shared,
“But I was pretty surprised. I was nervous. I was dying.”
David was truly touched and followed with an inspired performance with a couple of hits, one off the Green Monster. Though Ortiz made the final out with an opportunity to win the game, Boston could afford to give him a pass this one time as the Ortiz name, better known by his moniker, “Big Papi“, can be considered royalty in these parts.
